What’s your favorite leather for a jacket?

[Fireflame]

Vegetable tanned leathers are not waterproof but some are water repellent. Last week I wetted this elmc roadstar with a spray bottle. 5 minutes later the water was still in droplets / puddles on top.

View attachment 371743
I only took an 'after' pic lol.

OH man. Never got caught in the rain or even tried wetting my jackets. I live in an apartment building so finding a place to dry out a jacket for a few min without coming back to it being gone is almost impossible .

 

[Fireflame]

There is nothing like the Chromexcel Horsehide. No equivalent. No Substitutes. Every other type of leather would have a similar substitute from different tanneries. But not the Chromexcel Horse. It has many faults but it is the only truly unique one.

CXL does have its uniqueness. I’ve only had one jacket that was CXL and it’s been great to me. I have boots that are CXL and they look better with every wear. Might have to try out CXL more. Maybe go for something with a bit of color. (Currently I only have a black CXL jacket)

 

[Fireflame]

My favourite is probably goat. I currently have four goat jackets which means almost half my collection are goat. Goat is easy to wear, mid weight, drapes well and have a pebbly grain and it is one of the strongest leathers (only bested by kangaroo I think?).

Honestly I don’t think the tannery matters that much. Of my jackets I actually have no idea where the leather came from. Every tannery will have a variation in their product. Shinki will have hides with different characteristics coming out of their process. I think it is more important that the manufacturer have a relation to the tanneries that they are working with so that they can get what they want. I’ve seen leather from no name tanneries side by side to big brand tanneries and honestly
I don’t think anyone could tell them apart. There’s lots of high quality stuff out there that is not known to the general public.

New Thedi olive goat, washed and waxed.

View attachment 371746

70 year old goat:

View attachment 371748

Goat has a great look to it. It’s definitely on my list to try out. Very reliable, I haven’t heard of a bad goat leather yet.

 

[navetsea]

OH man. Never got caught in the rain or even tried wetting my jackets. I live in an apartment building so finding a place to dry out a jacket for a few min without coming back to it being gone is almost impossible .

put it on a wide shoulder suit hanger with main zipper open, hook it on the back rest of a dining chair or something and blow standing fan right in front of it overnight, put towel or mop on the floor below it incase of dripping if your place have wooden or carpeted flooring.

 

[handymike]

I love/hate CXL for a jacket (I’ve had 4- 3 horse & 1 steer), but there is no denying that it’s lovely to look at, feel, and try on for brief periods while flexing the arms to see the creases develop.

 

[Adam K]

My preference so far is Goatskin and Deerskin.

Is goat normally a thinner tho leather? I have always stayed away from Goat thinking is had to be a thinner leather. I have heard though that goat is a great leather for cold wet weather

 

[willyto]

Is goat normally a thinner tho leather? I have always stayed away from Goat thinking is had to be a thinner leather. I have heard though that goat is a great leather for cold wet weather

In my experience it can be thick too. In fact the ones I have from Himel or SJC are thicker than you would imagine and quite stiff.

I've handled others which were thinner on an Eastman A2 for example.

 

[Edward]

My preferences have evolved over time, and I no longer have any one, preferred leather over all circumstances. I cut my leather jacket teeth back in the eighties on bike jackets, when, pre-d30 armouring and aramid linings and such, the received wisdom was 'the heavier the better'. I'm still a fan of a good, hefty hide in some styles. I enjoy the process of breaking in a heavy steer or horse halfbelt or bike jacket and how 'personalised' the fit comes to be over time. Equally, however, in warmer weather and with jackets that have a different drape, something else is better. The light goat in my Wested Raiders proved ideal for warmer times, with the combination of the perfect drape for the style and yet also having a toughness that screen-accurate lamb lacks - I never felt the need to baby that jacket. My Highwayman, being an 'apprentice-made' model (though it carries the blue label, as it was before Aero introduced the Robin Hood 'Apprentice Made' label) is in mid-weight steer. Same thickness as Horween's CXL FQHH, but weighs less, and has a nice, soft drape right from new. Ten years on, it has also retained its uniform blackness, which I like. I have one 'teacore' jacket, and that's enough. As a rule, I have learned I prefer a black hide that stays black. Browns, oxbloods, blues I'm happy to see 'patina' that way, but really don't care for a black jacket turning brown as a rule. 'looser' fits like the Highwayman and 'longer' jackets in general I've learned I much prefer a somewhat softer (but sturdier) hide with more 'flow' as it just looks better. (Of course, FQHH can get there with wear and breaking in, though I don't feel the same need to do that if there's an equally sturdy option that has the right drape for this type of jacket from the off). For gloves, goat is the winner by far, soft, allows for maximum dexterity, but also the magical abrasion resistance.

If I was forced to choose a single option that would be the closest I'd get to an all-rounder, it would probably be chrome-tanned goat, but I much prefer having the range of options for what is best suited to a specific design. My favourite goat I've experienced is whatever it is that Aero use. A black goat non-MC style is definitely on my wants list.

The SJC jackets look nice too - I'd be tempted by the half-belt, though the Grizzly is really calling me. That and the Aero Wilderness are currently top of my cooler-weather leather wants.

 

[Goel]

The Finnish moose hide posted at times is the nicest looking leather I've seen, just wish it wasn't so hard to find! However I got a Horween elk leather that I'd like to think is pretty close.

 

[nick123]

Still love Johnson’s overdye. One day I hope to do another in that leather.

 

[Jin431]

Dense fine smooth grain horsehide in midweight 2.5-3.5 oz range seems to hit all the right notes for me. Horween/Italian/shinki what have you in whatever finish I'll take them all lol

 

[Edward]

I also fancy the idea of something in kangaroo hide if it were to become readily available; perhaps an all-leather Aero Shackleton would be well suited to that.

 

[TartuWolf]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but as there has been so much talk about water resistance and waterproofing I thought I'd share a few pictures here.
Dry -> Drop of water -> Wait 1 min -> Wipe of with paper towel -> Dry 15min -> Dry 1h+

I was surprised how helpless the water was against waxy steer. Both the CXL and the "Rustler". Absolutely 0 penetration.

Will also add that I tried conditioning all of these with a bit of my favorite conditioner/grease. Most of them took it in nicely. The Rustler steer had 0 soak in, same as with the water. All the conditioner stayed on top. Guess it is fully saturated with waxes already. Same with the XCL. The most curious case was the Rancher/Rancho hh on the bottom right. The conditioner definitely had a negative effect on it. Left the pores filled with while residue which I can't easily get out. Disappointed with that.

Conclusion : Always get samples and don't just touch and feel them, but also do various tests with it. Like stretching, bending, rubbing, scraping, conditioning, water tests, etc..

 

[navetsea]

water proofing spray might improve the gliding of water beads from the surface

 

[TartuWolf]

I'm pretty sure it would. But when you compare the leathers as is - I would rather avoid the one that leaves a nasty dark spot forever even after fully drying out once the water DOES penetrate somewhere.

 

[nattevagten]

CXL FQHH and CXL steer for me, the best stuff on the planet. The look, the feel - no other leather comes close.

 

[Will Zach]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but as there has been so much talk about water resistance and waterproofing I thought I'd share a few pictures here.
Dry -> Drop of water -> Wait 1 min -> Wipe of with paper towel -> Dry 15min -> Dry 1h+
View attachment 481176
View attachment 481177

View attachment 481178

View attachment 481179
View attachment 481180
I was surprised how helpless the water was against waxy steer. Both the CXL and the "Rustler". Absolutely 0 penetration.

Will also add that I tried conditioning all of these with a bit of my favorite conditioner/grease. Most of them took it in nicely. The Rustler steer had 0 soak in, same as with the water. All the conditioner stayed on top. Guess it is fully saturated with waxes already. Same with the XCL. The most curious case was the Rancher/Rancho hh on the bottom right. The conditioner definitely had a negative effect on it. Left the pores filled with while residue which I can't easily get out. Disappointed with that.

Conclusion : Always get samples and don't just touch and feel them, but also do various tests with it. Like stretching, bending, rubbing, scraping, conditioning, water tests, etc..

CXL has two things going for it as far as water resistance is concerned - chrome tanning and wax stuffing. Both processes help water repellency. Regarding white residue in pores - try hitting it with a hair dryer. It helps sometimes, but not always, depends on the melting point of the wax that has deposited in the pores.